Even before last week’s announcement that Metallica would be named in its first year of eligibility to the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2009, it already seemed as good a time as any to take stock of the long-running metal gods.

Metallica, Pearl Jam and Beck are among the high-profile artists who may leave their labels in 2009 and join Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and the Eagles as independent operators, according to Billboard.com.

Saturday night at the sold-out Wachovia Center, the men of Metallica gave no indication they plan to give up the ghost any time soon, despite the four large metal caskets hanging precariously over their heads, a visual riff on the funereal cover art of th